


The True Meaning of True Love

by Inkyrius



Category: Ever After High
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Gals being pals, Internalized Homophobia, Introspection, Misses Clause Challenge, Yuletide Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-10
Updated: 2016-12-10
Packaged: 2018-09-07 17:15:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8809261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkyrius/pseuds/Inkyrius
Summary: Apple had considered herself an authority on true love. Then she met Darling.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EvilMuffins](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilMuffins/gifts).



> I was browsing through requests for this fandom anyway, and when I saw yours I knew I had to write something for it. For one thing, this is an idea that I've had rolling around anyway, and I'm glad to finally do something with it. For another, I've enjoyed so many of your works in the past that I wanted to do something in return. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Huge thanks go to Leapersonata for betaing

Apple considered herself an authority on true love. She was particularly interested in true love’s kiss, for obvious reasons, but she was well versed in its other forms. True love could be a man rescuing you from a witch, or giving up his kingdom for you, or recognizing you from the smallest detail.

As far as she was concerned, any or all of those would be wonderful. She was a Royal, not a purist. She could accept elements from other stories getting mixed with hers, as long as she got her happy ending.

But as far as she knew, there were no stories about women in true love with other women. Until recently, she would have scoffed at the very concept. That just wasn’t how things worked, especially not in the stories.

But then she met Darling Charming, who was everything she could hope for in a knight. She was kind, and brave, and gorgeous, and lived up to her last name in a way neither of her brothers did. Apple had spent years dreaming of a person with all those qualities, and at last she’d found one.

And she was unmistakably female.

At first Apple tried to ignore her. She may have had the slightest crush from their adventures in Wonderland, but that was understandable. She’d thought Darling was a man at first, and it had been natural for her to develop feelings for the one who’d saved her. And after all her near-death experiences, her heart was understandably a bit confused. But it was fine. They were still in school, after all. She’d grow out of it, and then she’d find a proper prince who would kiss her and make all her dreams come true.

She focused on imagining her happily ever after. She didn’t watch Darling from across the classroom, wondering what it would be like to hold her hand. It was probably strong and callused from swordplay, but that didn’t matter, because she was never going to know.

She had been raised to be saved by a prince and marry him and live with him happily ever after. What other options were there?

And then came the Dragon Games. She could probably have done without releasing the Evil Queen in the first place, and enacting her story early wasn’t ideal either. But none of that really mattered, because it all worked out. And now she finally had proof that she and Daring were meant to be! She could put any unfortunate feelings for Darling aside for good.

Her excitement lasted for about two hours, between the curse being lifted and going back to her room. Then she ran into Raven.

When she said they needed to talk, Apple cringed. She was well aware that she’d made mistakes. She saw no reason to dwell on them.

But no, Raven wanted to talk about the kiss. Normally, Apple would be thrilled at the chance to get some girl talk in with her roommate. She could tell from Raven’s expression that this wouldn’t be the kind of fun she’d hoped for.

Slowly, Raven explained that as glad as they all were to see her awake, Daring wasn’t the one who’d brought her back to life. He’d tried, but it hadn’t worked. It had been Darling’s kiss that  saved her.

Apple stood up and walked out of the room with as much dignity as she could muster. As soon as he was in the hallway, she started running. Eventually, she found a bathroom stall to lock herself in, and finally let herself start to cry.

What was wrong with her? She’d tried so hard to be a proper princess, but look at her. Somehow, she’d ruined her story, and now she was crying about it in a bathroom. She had to be stronger than this if she was ever going to be queen.

Then again, who said she would be queen? She’d already failed at the most basic part of her story. Who ever heard of two queens ruling together? There was just no way.

She stayed in the bathroom for longer than she wanted to admit. Every time she began to consider going back to her room, she thought about having to face other people. How could she claim to be a princess if she couldn’t even hold up her end of the story? Even Raven, who meant well, would probably talk about how this was proof that their stories didn’t have to be their destinies.

Apple wanted her story, she did. She just also wanted to know what it would be like to kiss Darling again.

Eventually, it got dark enough that she could sneak back without being noticed. Raven was already asleep, so Apple could hide under the covers and pretend that everything was okay.

She told herself that she was better the next day. Maybe the kiss had only worked because it wasn’t really her story yet. Faybelle wasn’t the one who was supposed to poison her, so maybe Darling wasn’t really the one who was supposed to save her, either. She still had a chance.

It worked until she got to class. But then Darling walked in, and Apple found herself staring at her hair, wondering if it was as soft as it looked and what it would be like to run her fingers through it.

She turned bright red, but she didn’t look away in time to avoid Darling’s gaze. Darling smiled, which only made it worse. Apple groaned and put her head down on her desk.

She did her best to focus on the teacher’s lecture, but it was no use. She’d start thinking about what her mother would say, which would cause her to freak out. Then she’d pull herself back to the present, only to catch her gaze wandering to Darling again. Of course, she couldn’t let herself keep looking, because that would be just another failure. And what would her mother say?

At the end of class, her notes consisted of five words, one of which was crossed out. She gathered her stuff quickly, preparing to leave before anyone could try to talk to her. She knew people would gossip about it, but at that particular moment she couldn’t bring herself to care.

Of course, there was no way things would go that well for her. Not only did someone stop her, it was the last person she wanted to talk to: Darling Charming herself. To make matters worse, Apple’s first reaction was to smile, because she was always happy to see Darling.

“We should probably talk,” Darling said, looking uncharacteristically nervous.

Apple scuffed her shoe on the floor, not meeting Darling’s eyes. “Okay,” she said eventually.

Darling hopped up to sit on a desk. “So,” she said. “There’s a chance I’m your true love. And while I like the idea of not having to be a damsel in distress, you don’t look very happy about it.”

Great, now Apple was tearing up again. Having it put so bluntly made things seem more real. She kept her eyes firmly on the floor, trying to act like all this was just a minor inconvenience, like afterward she’d go hang out with her friends and everything would be normal again. “Well, yeah,” she said. “I mean, all my life, I’ve been waiting for my prince. If I don’t have one, what does that mean for me?”

Darling reached out to take her hand. “Hey,” she said. “Look at me.” Apple did so. Darling’s face was blurry past unshed tears, but Apple’s first thought was how beautiful she was.

“I’ll be honest,” Darling said. “I don’t know what this means for you, or for your story. But it’s okay. We don’t have to figure it out right now. If you like, I can leave you alone for a while, so you can decide for yourself what you want to do.”

“No!” Apple said before she could stop herself. She swallowed. “I mean. Yes, I’m kind of terrified.” She gave a watery laugh. “I have no idea if I can still have my happily ever after now. But, um, I’m not sure that the alternative is any better.”

She paused, trying to gauge Darling’s reaction. Darling was sitting patiently, waiting for her to finish. Apple took a deep breath and decided to risk it. “The thing is that, um, I really liked you even before the kiss? And if it’s okay with you, I want to figure out what this means together. If you don’t mind, of course.”

Darling laughed. “I don’t know, spending time with a beautiful girl? You’re right, that sounds terrible.” She looked at Apple’s face and softened. “To tell you a secret, I liked you too.”

Apple finally smiled at that. “Wow,” she said. As a princess, she was used to being fawned over, but somehow it meant so much more coming from the girl sitting across from her. “In that case, do you want to eat lunch together?

Darling jumped down from her desk. “I’d like that,” she said.


End file.
